Mark Twain in the News -- Again

According to the New York Times and the UK's Guardian, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn will be republished by NewSouth Books with changes to the words "nigger" and "injun." They will become "slave" and "Indian," respectively.

Obviously, they are attempting to use less offensive words in lieu of the offensive, vulgar and prejudicial words used by Twain. The Guardian's article, in particular, notes Twain's anti-racist stance as an individual.

Certainly, this will generate quite a bit of conversation in the press and the publishing community.

The change is a corruption of the initial intentions, a cleansing that corrupts history and whitewashes peoples view of the world. The Guardian piece has a very worthwhile view on this subject.